ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. Has $4.59 Million Holdings in Waters Corporation $WAT

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. cut its Waters Corporation stake by 21.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 3,393 shares and leaving it with 12,094 shares worth about $4.59 million.
• Institutional ownership in Waters remains very high at 94.01%, and several other funds recently increased their positions in the stock.
• Waters reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenue, while analysts currently rate the stock Moderate Buy with an average price target of $395.12.

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. lessened its stake in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 21.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,094 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 3,393 shares during the period. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V.'s holdings in Waters were worth $4,594,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Waters by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,284 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $488,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Waters by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 18,450 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $7,008,000 after acquiring an additional 1,068 shares in the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Waters by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 2,012 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $764,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Waters by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 125,584 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $47,968,000 after acquiring an additional 6,715 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its holdings in Waters by 23.5% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 8,283 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $3,146,000 after purchasing an additional 1,575 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Waters

In related news, Director Wei Jiang acquired 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $289.46 per share, for a total transaction of $144,730.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 3,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $996,031.86. This trade represents a 17.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WAT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating and set a $350.00 price target on shares of Waters in a report on Thursday. Evercore upgraded shares of Waters from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $350.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, April 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Waters to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Waters from $410.00 to $350.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Waters from $423.00 to $350.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Sunday, February 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $395.12.

Waters Stock Performance

NYSE WAT opened at $355.12 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $310.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $352.26. Waters Corporation has a 1 year low of $275.05 and a 1 year high of $414.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.14.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.39. Waters had a net margin of 11.91% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The firm had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.25 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 91.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Waters has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.950-3.050 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 14.400-14.600 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Waters Corporation will post 14.49 EPS for the current year.

Waters Company Profile

Waters Corporation is a global provider of analytical instruments, software and services for laboratory and research applications. The company designs, manufactures and sells technologies centered on liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, separation science, and related sample preparation and detection systems. Its product portfolio includes chromatographs, mass spectrometers, columns and consumables, laboratory informatics and workflow software, as well as technical support and training services that help customers run and interpret complex analyses.

Waters serves a wide range of end markets that include pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, contract research and testing laboratories, academic and government research institutions, clinical diagnostics, food and environmental testing, and industrial and chemical manufacturers.

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